Racial Healing and Renewal Cohort

About the Program

Application now open through March 24. Apply today.

The world is a different place now, almost three years after the pandemic began. Racialized trauma was on full display in national and local media and in our places of work throughout the pandemic. This trauma revealed how deep the wounds of systemic oppression are for our community and for each of us individually. It is critical to address the roots of systemic oppression moving forward and to re-envision how our communities will heal and thrive together. Many of those fighting to undo systemic oppression work in the nonprofit and philanthropic communities and the demands of the work take a toll on workers’ health and well-being. Healing is a revolutionary act and a critical component to healing is to create new practices that bring about new energy and ideas to approach the fight.

Facilitators

Robert Blanquera Nelson is a Pilipino immigrant, working for racial justice in Albuquerque, NM. He has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 10 years. He has worked predominantly in homeless and housing services, having helped found Albuquerque’s first community housing-first initiative, Albuquerque Heading Home. He recently served as the Program Manager for Pivotal New Mexico, specializing in developing resources and investments for New Mexico. Currently,he serves as nonprofit consultant and anti-racism educator, having trained with the local Anti-Racism Training Institute of the Southwest (ARTI) and the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB). He currently serves on the Housing andNeighborhood Economic Development Fund Committee with the City of Albuquerque and is the Co-Chair for Asian American Association of New Mexico, working to build a vibrant Asian Pacific Islander community throughout the state.Lastly, he is a community organizer for the Historic Neighborhoods Alliance in downtown Albuquerque. In his spare time, Robert is an avid swimmer and enjoys mobile video games, cooking, writing, reading, and playing guitar.

Kendra Toth is a co-founder of RACED Consulting — a cross-race, cisgendered-queer facilitation team that harnesses the strengths of who we are to actively and directly confront white supremacy. She engages clients interested in exploring the impact of racial whiteness and how systems of oppression and privilege impact their lives — both personally and professionally — through a personalized, problem solving approach. Kendra has over 15 years of experience in classroom teaching, school leadership, facilitation, and one-on-one accompaniment. She has strong skills in interrogating whiteness, cultivating cross-race collaboration, facilitating difficult conversations, and helping leaders align organizational goals with building and fostering diverse groups of decision makers. Kendra holds a degree in Education and certification in both Mindful Facilitation and Mediation.

Application Details

This will be a small cohort of 8-10 people who are interested in beginning their healing journeys in a collective setting and safe space. Applicants are asked to self-identify their pronouns and race/ethnicity. In the application questions, we are looking for honest answers about where you are in your racial healing and anti-racism journey. Apply by March 24.

• Why is it important for you to do this work?
• What do you hope to learn from this series?
• What type of anti-racism and healing work are you currently doing?
• What is your comfort level talking about race, white supremacy, grief, and healing?
• Are you able to commit to attending each of the four 2-hour sessions over Zoom?

This is a cohort of four 2-hour sessions to be held over Zoom. Applicants should commit to attending all four sessions and be open to consistent engagement and learning to establish a healing journey.